Blanco, béliy, weiß, bílá, white. Many words, one meaning. One word, endless meanings.

The first that comes to mind is purity. The color white implies spotlessness, flawlessness, perfection, all of which make something pure. Innocent. A color unaffected, unknowing of the evil in life. Oblivion. A wide expanse of white nothingness. Goodness. Distinguishing right from wrong, the mediator that compromises with black to create the gray middle ground in between. Blankness. Potential lying on a blank sheet of paper. Absence. Light. Birth. The light at the end of the tunnel symbolizing hope. The sun sheds a clear white light, allowing things to grow, letting life go on. A new blanket of snow during the first days of winter, reflecting a blinding light. Softness. Brilliance. Youth. Old age.

In Eastern cultures, white is mourning and death. Here, it is happiness, joy, vibrancy. It is the blood draining from a face filled with dread. It is the flash of teeth when a smile replaces it. On Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year for the Jewish people, white envelops their bodies, wrapping them in purity, innocence, renewal. The white of an angel, a luminescent pearl. The heat of a white flame. The creamy white of fresh milk poured into a clear glass. A white flag of surrender. It is the clouds, it is air. White is the permanence of the past, the translucence of the present, the unknown of the future.